 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jacoblikesmusic
Date: 2012-01-24 06:28
I was wondering, for the high school clarinet player who wants to learn more about music theory in his spare time, what book would you recommend?
Particularly something that's detailed about things like musical notation, key signatures, chords etc., but also not extremely difficult to understand and very practical (for example no long section on the history of jazz music or something like that).
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2012-01-24 07:35
Rudiments of Music by Stewart Macpherson.
and also very useful. The Student's Dictionary of Musical Terms.
by Arthur J. Greenish.
Both are handy 'Pocket' sizes.
Skyfacer
Post Edited (2012-01-25 03:23)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2012-01-24 10:51
Get
http://www.edly.com/mtfpp.html
It is a well written book and believe it or not, makes theory enjoyable. Most books are pretty dry. This is more light hearted, yet very worthwhile. It is explained very clearly.
Post Edited (2012-01-24 12:02)
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Author: CarlT
Date: 2012-01-24 14:02
I got "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory". Easy to read and fairly comprehensive. Has worked well for me.
IMO, better than the "For Dummies" one.
CarlT
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2012-01-24 14:05
the one i have is EXCELLENT - will check the name and author when I get home from work.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2012-01-24 15:11
I second the Complete Idiot's Guide........
Bob Draznik
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Author: Trevor M
Date: 2012-01-24 18:11
There are two routes you can go with theory books: popular and academic.
Popular books are usually geared to people who want to play in popular styles (natch) like rock or jazz, and often assume that the player wants to understand harmony as a basis for improvisation or songwriting. They're written in a plain and helpful tone and usually have cartoons, presumably because they think the reader will enjoy reading about modes more if there is a cartoon dinosaur in the margin alongside. They probably won't tell you what a French 6th is. A good one is 'Music Theory For Practical People'.
Academic books are written in a very dry tone and attempt to comprehensively codify a small area of music theory, usually 'common practice' western theory (like the period from Bach to Mahler or so). They usually cost a lot and assume that the reader is learning harmony to do voice-leading exercises or study scores (rather than improvising). There is a lack of cartoon dinosaurs, but there will be an wearying discussion of French 6th chords. The one I used was Harmony and Voice-Leading by Aldwell-Schachter, but I'm sure there are better ones. Piston's is supposed to be good, but apparently it's been edited into gobbledygook in the new editions so you might look for an older one.
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2012-01-24 21:42
While I used the Barbara Wharram books when I was studying, I personally like the Mark Sarcknecki theory books, they go all the way from the beginnings all the way to advanced harmony. They have different versions for different age levels, though for a high school student I'd recommend either the complete Rudiments, or the two smaller books that cover the Basic and the second one that is Intermediate/Advanced Rudiments. I've looked at and tried others, but this is my preferred one, with the exception of young beginners (for piano) and learning-challenged students. I also combine the workbook theory lessons with practice identifying keys and chords for example on a music theory program on my laptop.
Meri
Please check out my website at: http://donmillsmusicstudio.weebly.com and my blog at: http://clariniano.wordpress.com
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